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Bangkok Blasts Cost Thai Tourism $1.8b

Thailand has admitted that the Erawan shrine bombing incident has taken a toll on its tourism with the Tourism Authority of Thailand reporting a loss of 64 billion baht ($1.8 billion) in revenues from cancellation of flights during the August-September period.

However, it is confident of tourism recovery in the fourth quarter.

The shrine bombing’s aftermath was concluded in a report tabled for Cabinet acknowledgement at Wednesday’s meeting by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, ThaiVisa News reported.

In the report compiled by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the bombing on August 17 had adversely affected its overseas tourism markets, reporting an estimated loss of 1.33 million foreign tourists.

It said 35 countries had issued levels 1-3 travel warnings to Thailand, with the exception of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Slovakia issuing level-4 warning or avoiding travels if not necessary.

It said its tourism offices in South Asian countries, namely Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam, also reported cancellations of package tours and flights during August and September to Thailand.

Reservations on the August 26 flights to Thailand were also cancelled by half, it said.

Assessment of business loss from the incident to the country’s tourism markets worldwide was moderate, it said, or translated into a loss of 64.3 billion baht in tourism revenues and a missing of 1.33 million tourists visiting the country.

The report noted that as the situation was under control, the recovery in tourism will be seen in the final quarter of the year. It said local tourism was not affected by the incident although Bangkok tourism was slightly affected, particularly at the explosion area.

Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports said it would launch international media and promotional campaigns to restore confidence in Thailand and urge foreign visitors to come back from September to December this year.